Master Game Analysis – Capablanca-Ragozin, Moscow 1936

This master game is another from one of my chess heroes, José Raúl Capablanca. Here he takes on the Soviet Grandmaster Viacheslav Ragozin in the Moscow tournament of 1936.

This was the third of the Moscow tournaments organised by Nikolai Krylenko, head of the Soviet chess association (among other things), and was competed by five Soviet players and five international players. Capablanca won the tournament with a score of 13/18 ahead of players including Botvinnik, Flohr and Lasker.

The focus of the analysis is the endgame, where we see Capablanca’s vision as he slowly but surely improves his position, then works towards coordinating the few remaining pieces in the endgame to help each other achieve a goal. In his book Endgame Strategy, Mikhail Shereshevsky describes this schematic thinking as follows.

The main things that a player is occupied with in the middlegame are the checking of all kinds of tactical blows, and the calculation of combinations and variations. In the endgame things are different. […] In the overwhelming majority of endings it is essential to think in terms of plans. Variations play a secondary role. The main role belongs to schematic thinking, and the possibility of setting up this or that position is checked by calculating variations.

So, in order to play the endgame better, we should not think in ‘moves’, but rather in schemes.

In the game viewer below you can play through the game and variations, and read the commentary. Use the arrows below the board, or click on moves in the annotation section.

[Event "Moscow"]
[Site "Moscow"]
[Date "1936.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Capablanca, Jose Raul"]
[Black "Ragozin, Viacheslav"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "E22"]
[PlyCount "125"]
[EventDate "1936.05.14"]
[EventType "tourn"]
[EventRounds "18"]
[EventCountry "URS"]
1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 Bb4 {Nimzo-Indian Opening} 4. Qb3 {The Spielmann
variation.} (4. e3 {This is the Rubinstein variation, the most popular
continuation. Typically it continues:} O-O 5. Bd3 d5 6. Nf3 c5 7. O-O) (4. Qc2
{White&#8217;s second choise is the Classical variation, also known as the
Capablanca variation. Even though Capablanca did not play it in this game,
there are several games before and after 1936 where he did.}) 4... Nc6 5. e3 d5
6. Nf3 O-O 7. a3 dxc4 8. Bxc4 Bd6 9. Bb5 {To stop e6-e5, but it is not
effective.} e5 10. Bxc6 exd4 11. Nxd4 bxc6 12. Nxc6 Qd7 13. Nd4 Qg4 14. O-O Ba6
$6 {Not the best diagonal for the bishop.} (14... c5 {Is better and lead to
attacking chances for Black.} 15. Nf3 Qh5 16. Rd1 Bc7) 15. h3 Qh4 16. Nf3 Qh5
17. Re1 Rab8 18. Qa4 Bb7 19. e4 {Blocks the attack on the f3-knight} h6 20. Be3
Rfe8 21. Bd4 Nh7 22. Bxa7 {Looks as if White allows a pin on the a-file, but
there is a nice escape.} Ra8 23. Qb5 Qxb5 24. Nxb5 {and the bishop is defended}
Rxe4 25. Rxe4 Bxe4 26. Nd2 Bd3 27. Nxd6 Rxa7 28. N6e4 {It is rarely clear
exactly when the endgame phase starts, but we could say we are there now.
Capablanca has managed to go a pawn up into the endgame; a scary prospect for
any opponent.} Nf8 29. Nc5 Bf5 30. Nf3 Ne6 31. Rc1 Kf8 32. Nxe6+ Bxe6 {In
Endgame Strategy, Shereshevsky recounts Capablanca&#8217;s notes on this position:
&#8220;White&#8217;s plan is to prevent the advance of the c-pawn (after which the b-pawn
could become weak) and to control the entire board up to the fifth rank. This
is achieved by moving the king to e3, and by placing the rook on c3, the
knight on d4, and the pawns at b4 and f4. After he has attained such a
position, White will be able to advance his queenside pawns.&#8221;} 33. Nd4 Rb7 34.
b4 Bd7 35. f4 {Already Capablanca controls or has an influence over most of
the 5th rank.} Ke7 36. Kf2 Ra7 37. Rc3 Kd6 38. Rd3 Ke7 39. Ke3 Ra4 40. Rc3 {
And there is Capablanca&#8217;s planned position.} ({Capablanca provided this
variation to show the earlier centralisation of his king to be an inferior
option.} 40. Ke4 $6 c5 41. bxc5 Bc6+ 42. Ke5 f6+ 43. Kf5 Bxg2 44. Rg3 Bd5)
40... Kd6 41. Rd3 Ke7 42. Rc3 Kd6 {It is not unusual to see this type of
repetition in tournaments where there is an increment or a delay on the clock,
especially around move 40. Many tournaments have a time control which includes
a requirement that 40 moves must be made in say the first 100 minutes, before
a &#8216;sudden death&#8217; time control starts. Players sometimes scramble to get the
last few moves in ahead of the first time control.} 43. Ne2 g6 {An unnecessary
weakening of the kingside pawns.} 44. Rd3+ Ke6 45. Kd4 {Moving over to the
queenside to support his pawns.} Ra6 46. Re3+ Kd6 47. Nc3 f5 {A further
deterioration of the pawns.} ({The a-pawn is protected tactically.} 47... Rxa3
$4 48. Ne4+ Kc6 49. Rxa3) 48. b5 {The queenside pawn advance begins.} Ra8 ({
Capablanca shows his continuation should Black have taken on a3 now.} 48...
Rxa3 49. Ne4+ fxe4 50. Rxa3 Bxb5 51. Rg3 c5+ 52. Kxe4 Bc6+ 53. Kd3 Be8) 49. Kc4
Be6+ 50. Kb4 {White is making good headway in supporting his queenside pawns
and there is now a real risk that the passed a-pawn can advance further.} c5+ {
Therefore Ragozin decides to remove one of the pawns. The a-pawn now can&#8217;t
have support from the b-pawn.} 51. bxc6 Bg8 {Getting the bishop out of the way,
so that &#8230;Kxc6 is possible without hanging the bishop.} 52. Nb5+ Kxc6 53. Rd3
g5 54. Rd6+ Kb7 55. fxg5 hxg5 56. Rg6 Rf8 57. Rxg5 {Going two pawns up.} f4 {
Capablanca thought 58.a4 would have been even stronger. Modern engines agree,
but the margins are thin and White has a winning game either way.} 58. Nd4 {
Covering f3} Rc8 {With a threat of &#8230;Rc4+ winning the knight. Capablanca
addresses this with the inbetween move} 59. Rg7+ Kb6 60. Rg6+ Kb7 61. Nb5 Rf8
62. Nd6+ Kb8 63. h4 {Black cannot defend on both sides of the board.} 1-0

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As ever, I would encourage you to set up the game on a real board and play through it. Other than the fact that real chess is played on real boards, it is an opportunity to practise your visualisation skills by visualising variations before you play through them.